Masquerade
by Vivi575
Summary: A masked Yule Ball. Two students share a dance, but they don't know who the other is. What will happen? Please read and review!
1. Preparations

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 1 – Preparations**

'Hey what do you think of this dress, Ginny?'

Ginny sighed as she turned around to take _another_ look at her best friend. Tonight's ball, her friends hadn't talked about anything else today. It was Christmas and Dumbledore had decided that there would be another Yule Ball this year.

'That's like the tenth dress you've tried on tonight,' she said. 'Exactly how many dresses do you have?'  
'But they're not all mine!' Melissa defended herself. 'This one's from Dacia and the one I had on before this is Keali's!'  
Ginny smiled.  
'It looks lovely.'

Ginny sighed again and turned around. She focused her attention on her own clothes. She hated this formal occassions, especially the dressing up part. She didn't feel comfortable in a dress, absolutely not. She had never liked wearing them, not even when she was little and right now she had only one dress in her closet. It wasn't a ballroom dress. It was a short red dress, strapless, with a purple clothe around her waist. Her arms would be covered with red sleeves which reached to the half of her hand and she would wear matching red boots.

'Don't you have anything else to wear?' Melissa joked.  
'You know me, Melis, I don't like formal clothing,' Ginny answered. 'You should be glad I'm not coming in my jeans.'  
Laughter sounded from all the girls in the room.  
'That'd be very funny!' Keali said.  
'Maybe I'll try it, then.' Ginny winked at Melissa, she knew she would hate that idea.  
'No way, you're so not going to wear jeans tonight!'

Ginny just smiled, got behind a screen and started to change into her dress. She had just taken of her sweater when she was called again.

'Hey Gin,' Dacia called. 'You should wear this with it.'  
Ginny looked around the screen and saw that Dacia held up a pair of white thights.  
'Yeah, those will look lovely with that dress,' Melissa said.  
'I don't know girls...' Ginny started, but she didn't have an opportunity to finish her sentence.  
'No "I don't knows" right now, you're going to wear them,' Melissa said and she grabbed the tights from Dacia's hand ('Hey'), walked over to Ginny, put it in her hands, turned her around and pushed her behind the screen again.

After a few moments Ginny was ready and she stepped from behind the screen and saw that she had attracted quite the audience (it was just her roommates watching, but Ginny never felt comfortable when being watched).

'Lovely,' Melissa said and she walked around Ginny.  
'We just have to do something about the hair and the make-up and then you'll be perfect,' Dacia said, following Melissa's example.  
'Leave the hair to me!' Keali came walking towards Ginny with her wand in one hand and a brush in the other.  
'What are you going to do to my hair?' Ginny asked.  
'Don't worry, sweetheart, I've got everything under control.' She started to brush her hair.  
'Tonight, we're gonna make sure you look absolutely splendid!'

Ginny knew that nothing would work on her friends tonight, nothing what she'd say would make any difference, so she just sat down and let them do what they wanted.

'Ooooh, you'll definitely pick up a cutie, tonight!'

She didn't want to. She just couldn't understand that her friends seemed to just care about two things in life: boys and fashion. She didn't care about either of those things. It was her fifth year now and she hadn't even had one boyfriend. Not that she cared, on the contrary, but her friends seemed to have a different boyfriend every single month, she had lost track of it.

'Done! Now let me see you!'  
Ginny stood up and turned around a few times.  
'You look absolutely wonderful,' Keali said and the other girls nodded in agreement.  
'Shouldn't you get ready yourselfs?' Ginny asked.  
'We'll be done in no time, we've been experimenting for weeks and we know exactly what we want.'

Ginny wasn't surprised, she knew them too well to be. She walked over to her drawer and pulled out a mask. That was the only thing that was good about the ball. It was a masked ball and Dumbledore had assured them that they wouldn't be able to recognise each other, no one would be able to recognise anyone. As soon as they put on their masks the enchantment would begin to work and it'd just stop when you pulled it off again.  
Ginny looked at the white mask in her hands. It had belonged to her grandmother and it was very useful mask. When you put it on it would change into a mask that'd match the outfit you were currently wearing.  
It had seemed just a few seconds to Ginny that she stood there, mask in her hand, sunken into thoughts, but apperently it were at least a couple of minutes. When she turned around she saw that her friends were ready too. She checked the time: 7.45PM. Good, the ball would start in fifteen minutes.

'Everyone ready?' Melissa asked.  
Everyone nodded.  
'On three, one, two, three.' Everyone put on their mask.  
Ginny felt light in her head once she had put her mask on, but that feeling disappeared as sudden as it had appeared. She looked around the dormitory which was now filled with girls she didn't recognise. They seemed familiair, but she couldn't tell the names of the girls.

She walked slowly to the door, went down the stairs to the common room, which was filled with yet more people she didn't recognise. She couldn't even tell which one was her brother. Very weird, she thought, but then again it was Dumbledore who had put the enchantment over them.

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Please review! Thanks!


	2. May I have this dance?

First I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. Thanks a lot!  
I know Ginny has a lot of boyfriends in the books, but for this story I just wanted it to be that she hadn't had any.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 2 – May I have this dance?**

At exactly 8.00PM the doors to the Great Hall opened and this year's Yule Ball had officialy started. Ginny entered the Hall and looked around her. It looked like all the girls of Hogwarts were already inside. Everyone looked a bit nervous around them as if searching for someone else. She felt the same way, nervous, because she wasn't able to recognise anyone that was in there, everyone was like a stranger to her.

The Great Hall looked _magnificent_. The usual seven Christmas trees were redecorated since dinner. They were now draped with all sorts of beautiful white decorations to match with the rest of the decorations in the Great Hall. There were gorgeous ice-sculptures scattered around on the floor. Fake, warm snow came out of the ceiling, but never touched the floor. On several tables there were even more gorgeous ice-sculptures of castles and other amazing buildings.

Ginny walked over to a couple of chairs standing at the side of the Hall. She sat down and started observing the students. Most girls were wearing long evening gowns. Probably muggle dresses, Ginny thought, as that was totally 'in' at the moment. Some girls were wearing very simple, yet very elegant dresses. Others wore dresses which made her wonder how they dared to wear it. She would have certainly never put on such a dress.  
The boys were all wearing suits that looked a lot like each other. Sure, some of them had a slightly different colour, but the basics were all the same. Black suit, white shirt beneath, shining black shoes and a bow tie. It looked good, but Ginny thought it was all a bit too formal.

She sat there a couple of moments with her own thoughts before the were interrupted.  
'You look like you are bored, want me to keep you company?' a boy asked her.  
'No thanks, I'm really enjoying myself,' she snapped at him. It didn't came out the way she had meant it. He looked hurt when he walked away.  
Ginny stood up and walked to a table to get something to drink. She poured some punch in a glass and walked back to the chairs, she saw that there were a few more people sitting on them. She sat down.

'Can you recognise anyone, anyone at all?' the girl next to her asked.  
'No,' she answered. 'But wasn't that the idea behind this all?'  
'I know, but what if I went to dance with a first-year, that'd be a bit embarrassing.'  
'Sure, but there aren't any first-years here. It's just fourth-years and up.'  
'Oh right, I kinda forgot about that,' the girl said and she didn't say anything else.

Suddenly Ginny felt the urge to get up and dance to the music, she loved to sing and dance, but she could restrain herself. It would look a bit weird if she went to dance alone, among all the couples on the dance-floor. Instead she looked at the couples dancing. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, there were defenitely a couple of teachers dancing with each other, but Ginny wasn't able to recognise any of them, as the were wearing masks too.  
When she looked up again she saw that a boy came walking in her direction. Unlike the other boys he wasn't wearing a suit. He was just wearing black pants, a white shirt and an open jacket. It looked good, not too formal, but right for the occasion.

He was still walking in her direction and Ginny took a good look at him. He was tall, about a foot taller then she was. His skin was pale and his hair was the lightest blond she had ever seen. He stopped in front of her.

'May I have this dance?' he asked.  
'Are you... talking to me?' she asked, startled.  
'Yes, may I have this dance?' and he offered her his arm.  
What should I do, she thought. She didn't come here with the intention to dance with someone, she actually told herself she wouldn't be dancing with any guy tonight. But something about this boy was making her reconsider it all. She looked up at him, confused about what to do. He was still standing with his arm for her to take it. She stood up, took his arm, still startled and they walked off towards the dance floor.

He places one hand on her waist and took her hand with the other. Hesitating a bit she put her other hand on his shoulder and they started moving on the music.

_Meet me after dark again and I'll hold you  
I want nothing more then to see you there  
And maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away  
We'll be lost before the dawn_

Ginny looked up at him. He was wearing a simple black mask and she could see his eyes were grey, with fragments of blue in it. He looked down at her and smiled, she smiled back.

_If only night could hold you where I can see you, my love  
Then let me never ever wake again  
And maybe tonight we'll fly so far away  
We'll be lost before the dawn_

It felt weird, dancing with someone she couldn't recognise. But he _was_ a very good dancer, he knew exactly how to move.

_Somehow I know that we can't wake again from this dream  
It's not real, but it's ours_

Dancing with him made her feel so weird, but it was a very good feeling. It felt as if she drifted away on the clouds, and she just let herself drift off.

_Maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away  
We'll be lost before the dawn_

Just maybe...

_Maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away  
We'll be lost before the dawn_

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The song in this chapter is _Before the Dawn_ by _Evanescence_.

Did you like it that I put a song in this chapter or not? Should I do it again or not? Please review! Thanks!


	3. I promise

First I want to thank you all for the reviews! I was really happy with the one I got from _Love-is-Everything_ about my grammar, since English is not my native language. Thanks a lot!  
I'm sorry it took some time to update, but I have been very busy last week, so please forgive me.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 3 – I promise**

Ginny sat down on the edge of a beautiful fountain, that stood in the Great Hall. She sighed, she had never felt this way around any guy, not even around Harry, her childhood crush. She felt completely at ease with this stranger, as if she had known him her entire life. He sat down next to her and she leaned against his chest. It made her feel so safe, she wished she could keep this feeling forever inside her.

He slowly stood up and Ginny wondered what he was going to do.  
'What are you...' she started, but he silenced her by putting a finger on her lips. He took out his wand and conjured a single rose out of thin air. It was a gorgeous white rose, as white as snow. He gave it to her.  
'Do you want to share one last dance with me?' he asked and offered her the rose.  
She took the rose, smiled at him and put the rose in her auburn hair. Then she got up and they walked to the dance-floor to share their last dance for tonight.

She put her arms around his neck and she felt his arms slip around her back. She smiled at him and put her head on his shoulder, wanting to stay like this forever.

_Kaze ga yoseta kotoba ni  
Oyoida kokoro  
Kumo ga hakobu ashita ni  
Hazunda koe_

My heart was swimming  
In words gathered by the wind  
My voice bounded  
Into a cloud-carried tomorrow

_Tsuki ga yureru kagami ni  
Furueta kokoro  
Hoshi ga nagare koboreta  
Yawarakai namida_

My heart trembled  
in the moon-swayed mirror  
Soft tears  
spilled with a stream of stars

_Suteki da ne  
Futari te wo tori aruketa nara  
Ikitai yo  
Kimi no machi ie ude no naka_

Isn't it wonderful  
If we could walk, hand in hand  
I'd want to go  
to your town, your home, in your arms

_Sono mune  
Karada azuke  
Yoi ni magire  
Yumemiru_

I dream of being  
Against your chest,  
My body in your keeping  
Disappearing into the evening

_Kaze ha tomari kotoba ha  
Yasashii maboroshi  
Kumo ha yabure ashita ha  
Tooku no koe_

Words halted by wind are  
A gentle illusion  
A tomorrow torn by clouds is  
The voice of a distant place

_Tsuki ga nijimu kagami wo  
Nagareta kokoro  
Hoshi ga yurete koboreta  
Kakusenai namida_

My heart that had been  
In a moon-blurred mirror that flowed  
Those stars that trembled and spilled  
Cannot hide my tears

_Suteki da ne  
Futari te wo tori aruketa nara  
Ikitai yo  
Kimi no machi ie ude no naka_

Isn't it wonderful  
If we could walk, hand in hand  
I'd want to go  
To your town, your home, in your arms

_Sono kao  
Sotto furete  
Asa ni tokeru  
Yumemiru_

My dream of  
Your face  
That I softly touch  
Melts in the morning

'Who are you?' she whispered.  
He looked down at her. 'You don't want to know.'  
His hand reached for her chin and lifted her head up so she was looking into his grey eyes.  
'But, I do,' she said.  
He shook his head and leaned forwards. 'Not yet,' he said and then he kissed her softly on her lips.  
Ginny had never felt anything like this before, this was so magical. She never wanted to break apart, but he pulled away his head.  
'You will find out one day, I promise,' and he walked away, leaving a very confused Ginny behind.

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The song in this chapter is _Suteki da Ne_ by _Riki_. The lyrics are in italic and beneath it is the translation.

I'm sorry it's such a short chapter, but I was out of inspiration. I hope that won't happen again.

Please review! Thanks!


	4. Meet me after dark again

Thanks to all who have reviewed, it means the world to me! Thanks a lot!  
I'm sorry it took so long to update, but school is killing me. Here is chapter 4, I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 4 – Meet me after dark again**

When Ginny woke up next morning images of last night came into her mind. Had it been real, she wondered. Wasn't it all a dream. She felt sad at this thought and turned on her back. Even more images of the dance came to her, this always happened when she'd had a dream, so last night must've been one. It was too good to be real. After a few moments she sat up and ran a hand through her messy hair. She felt something was still in it and she took it out to see what it was. She smiled when she saw that it was a snowe-white rose. So last night _was_ real, she thought happily. Suddenly she felt happy and energetic again. She got out of bed and saw her friends were still sleeping. Quietly she went to the bathroom to take a shower. She put on her clothes and decided she'd go and get something to eat.

She went down into the common room and saw that there were quite a few people in it, she figured it wasn't too early.  
'Good morning, Ginny.'  
She looked around and saw that her brother, Ron, was calling her. He was playing a game of wizards chess with his best fried Hary. Hermione was sitting with them reading a book.  
'Morning, Ron, Harry, Hermione,' she replied and she walked over to them.  
'Had a good time yesterday?' Harry asked her.  
'It was okay,' Ginny said, trying hard not to smile too brightly at the thought of het mysterious date. 'You know I don't really like these dances.'  
Hermione gave her a small smile and turned her attention on her book again.  
'I'm going down and get some breakfast' Ginny said. 'I'll see you later.' She turned around and went through the portraithole.

Sunken in thoughts about last night's dance she walked her way to the Great Hall on auto-pilot, she had done it so many times now that she didn't have to think about were she was going anymore.  
'Watch out!' someone screamed and Ginny looked back to see who it was. When she did so she bumped into somebody else. They both lost their balance and fell down the stairs. Ginny felt she landed on the other person and she looked down to see who it was. When she did so her eyes met the grey ones of Draco Malfoy. Great, she thought, of all the people I _can_ bump into I have to go and pick Draco Malfoy.  
'Watch it, Weasel,' he snared, but being down Ginny it didn't have much effect.  
'Thanks for breaking my fall, Ferret,' Ginny said.  
'Now, get off of me!'  
'No!' Ginny smiled. 'I'm sitting quite comfortable here.'  
She saw that his face started to turn red and she was actually enjoying this. She was finally getting back on him, getting back on him for all the times he had tortured her and her friends.  
'Not so big without your bodyguards now, are you?' she asked him and brought her face down to his. 'What are you going to do now?'  
She examined his face, his eyes were grey, but they had bits of blue in it. His blond hair hung in front of his eyes and his usually pale face was flushed red.  
'You just wait, you little Weaslette,' he sneered.  
'Will do. Well it was fun, but I must be going now,' Ginny said and she got up. She walked to the Great Hall leaving a very stunned Draco behind.

When Ginny sat down in the Great Hall her friends came walking in too.  
'Great job, Gin!' Melissa called.  
'He really deserved that,' Dacia joined in.  
Ginny just smiled and focused her attention on her plate again. Her friends put some food on their plated too.  
'Where's Keali?' Ginny asked.  
'She was still sleeping. She just wouldn't wake up.'  
'Probably had a too good time last night.'  
They laughed.  
'So, Ginny, how was your night?' Dacia asked.  
'It was okay.'  
'Just okay?' she teased.  
'Yes! Just okay,' Ginny snapped, it came out completely the wrong way. 'You know I don't like balls, so this one was just okay.'  
'Well, something makes me think you enjoyed this one more then just okay,' Melissa said. 'I know you too well, Ginny, you'd better confess it.'  
Why could Melissa alway tell when I try to hide something, Ginny thought angrily.  
'Okay, I had a great time yesterday. I danced the night away with a guy and it was absolutely wonderful.'  
'Who was it?'  
'That's the problem, I don't know who he is. Because of that enchantement I couldn't recognise him.'  
'You didn't ask?' Dacia said unbelievably.  
'Of course I did,' Ginny told them. 'But he didn't want to tell me, he told me I'd find that out later.'  
'Well, you're never gonna hear anything from this guy again.'  
'Why not?'  
'If a guy tells you something like that he's never gonna tell you. He just used yesterday and that's it.'  
'But he promised me,' Ginny said sadly. 'He promised me I'd find out.'  
Dacia put a comforting arm around her and whispered 'I'm sorry.'  
Ginny felt sad again. It had been a dream, not a real dream, but a dream nontheless. She shove away her plate, not hungry anymore. She stood up.  
'I'm going for a walk,' she said and she looked at her friends.  
They nodded and Ginny walked off.

When she came into the Entrance Hall she saw that there were a few students standing at the notice board. Curious as she was she walked over there and tried to see what was up. When some of the girls moved away she was able to read the note. Her eyes widened as she saw what was on it:

_Meet me after dark again._

That was all there was on the piece of parchment, but it was enough for Ginny to turn around and run back into the Great Hall. She ran over to her friends and grabbed their arms dragging them out of the Hall.  
'What are you doing?' Melissa shrieked.  
'Just come with me,' Ginny hissed at her and she pulled them along to the notice.  
'Look at that,' she pointed at the parchment.  
'What's up with it. It's probably some stupid joke,' Dacia said.  
'No it's not, it's from him, he wants to meet me again. What should I do?'  
'You are _so_ going!' Melissa exclaimed sounding as excited as Ginny felt.  
She had never felt as happy as she felt now. She was going to meet him again and maybe he'd tell her who he was tonight. Just maybe...

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Please review! Thanks!


	5. Listen to the rain

I'm so so so sorry that it took so long to update, please forgive me! does puppy dog eyes  
Thank you all who have reviewed. I love you guys!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 5 – Listen to the rain**

Ginny Weasley whirled around to show her friends what she looked like.  
'You look beautiful!' Melissa said.  
Ginny could only smile at such a comment. For the first time in her life she actually felt beautiful, and she wasn't even wearing something very special. She was just wearing a pair of blue jeans and a very simple green sweater. Her friends had done something to her hair and now it fell in soft curls onto her shoulders.

'Here, you should try these on,' Dacia said and she held up her favorite shoes.  
'But, those are your favorites. Nobody's allowed to touch those,' Ginny said laughing.  
'Tonight _you_ can,' Dacia smiled. 'You must look absolutely splendid.'  
Ginny smiled and took the shoes from her friend. They were absolutely the most beautiful shoes she had ever seen. They were the same shade of green as her sweater and had a small heel under them. There was a ribbon attached to it, which she had to tie around her leg all the way up to her knee.

'Well,'Ginny said. 'I think I'll be going now.'  
She walked over to her trunk and took out the mask.  
'Why are you taking that?'  
'You never know,' she smiled and tucked the mask in her pocket. She grabbed her cloak and attached it.  
'Have a wonderful time, Gin!' Melissa called. 'We'll be waiting to hear everything from you.'  
'Sure thing,' and she walked out of the dormitory to the common room.

Luckily there wasn't anyone in there. They're probably in the Great Hall for dinner, Ginny thought. She didn't know whether she should have eaten something before this, but she decided not to. If she didn't feel comfortable she could always leave with the excuse that she still had to get some dinner. She walked to the Entrance Hall and went outside. She settled herself on one of the benches that were in front of the castle and waited.  
What if he's just making fun of me, she thought, what if he isn't going to come tonight, I'll look like a fool then.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She turned around to see who was walking there and saw that it was him. But he was wearing his mask so she wasn't able to recognise him. Swiftly she reached into her pocket and pulled out her own mask. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before placing it on her face. He hadn't seen her yet, so she stood up and walked towards him.

'Good evening,' she said.  
'Good evening,' he replied. 'You look lovely.'  
'Thank you.'  
He took her hand, lifted it up and kissed it soflty. She enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her skin.  
'So,' he brought her hand down again, but didn't let go of it. 'Have you already had dinner?'  
She shook her head.  
'Good,' he smiled and started walking. Ginny had no choice but to follow him, because he was still holding her hand.  
'Where are we going?'  
'It's a surprise.'  
They were heading towards the lake, their cloaks fluttering behind them as they crossed the grounds. He led her to a tree that stood on the edge of the lake. They passed under the low branches and Ginny was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. There, under that tree, was a blanket spread out over the grass. Around the blanket stood lit candles, casting a soft light over the scene. On the blanket dinner for two was set. He led her to her place and brought her hand down. She sat down and watched him as he walked over to the other side. He was wearing black jeans and a white sweater. His blond hair fell in his face and his eyes. It looked adorable.

'Enjoy it,' he said.  
Ginny nodded and silently started to put some of the food on her plate. She took a bite of it, it tasted wonderful.  
'You made it yourself?' she asked.  
'Yes,' he said. 'But with some help of the house elves in the kitchens. You like it?'  
'I love it,' she said and continued eating.  
She was aware that her date wasn't eating any of his food. Instead he was observing her very closely, but she pretended like she didn't notice it. She finished eating and looked up at him. He looked shocked that he was caught staring at her, but she just smiled at him.  
'I'm done,' she said.  
He smiled back at her and waved his wand. The plates and the food that was left over disappeared.

They sat in silence for a few moments. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a very comfortable silence. Slowly it started raining.  
'It's raining,' Ginny said. 'Let's get back inside.'  
She stood up, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down again. She looked at him and he shook his head. He laid down on the blanket.  
'Just lay down and listen to the rain,' he said.  
Looking at him in disbelief Ginny saw that he closed his eyes. There was a very serene expression on his face now. She shrugged and lay down next to him, her head on one line with his. She closed her eyes and listened. She listened to the rain. It was very relaxing and comforting. She never knew that listening to the rain could have this effect.

Ginny didn't know how long they just silently enjoyed each others company, while listening to the rain. She opened her eyes and looked at him. As if he felt her gaze upon him he turned his head and opened his eyes.  
'What's wrong?' he asked her.  
'Nothing,' she said.  
'You sure?'  
She nodded and he closed his eyes again. Hesitating a bit Ginny moved closer to him. She put her head on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he looked at her. Shocked by his reaction Ginny pulled away from him, but he smiled and moved closer to her. He put his arms around her and Ginny let her head rest on his chest. He placed a soft kiss on her hair. She looked up and smiled. Their heads moved closer together and before she knew it their lips were touching. His lips felt very soft on hers and she was intensely enjoying it. The kiss might have lasted for a few minutes, maybe for a few hours, Ginny didn't know and she didn't care. She felt a little itch in her stomach, that was something she had never felt before. She slowly pulled away.

'Who are you?' she whispered.  
'You really want to know?'  
She nodded.  
'Okay,' he hesitated. 'We'll turn around, take off our masks and turn back on the count of three. Okay?'  
She nodded again. They stood up and turned their backs towards each other. Ginny reached up and took off her mask. She was very excited. I'm finally going to see who he is, she thought.

'On the count of three, then,' he said.  
His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it just yet.  
'One, two...'  
No way, she thought. She had recognised the voice, but this couldn't be him... it just couldn't be. That was impossible.  
'Three!'  
She turned around preparing for the worst.

'Weasel!'  
'Ferret!' they both exclaimed at the same time.  
'No, this can't be,' Ginny said and she felt that her eyes were filled with tears. No, she couldn't cry in front of Draco Malfoy, because of him. She took a deep breath.  
'What can't be?' he sneered.  
'_This_ can't be. I mean how could it have been you. You're an asshole. A bloody asshole!' Ginny said. 'You're not like the guy that was behind the mask. That's just impossible.'

Ginny turned around and started running. Away from Malfoy, away from the tree under which they had been laying, away from this nightmare. She no longer fought back her tears, she just let them stream down her face. Everything around her was one big blur when she made her way to the Gryffindor common room. She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and looked up at it. She gave her the password (billywigs) and climbed through the portrait hole. She stormed through the crowded common room and went upstairs to her dormitory. She let herself fell onn her bed and started crying hysterically.

'Ginny?' Melissa entered. 'What's wrong?'  
'Nothing,' Ginny said sarcasticly. 'Nothing, except the dream turned out to be a nightmare, a horrible nightmare!'  
'What happened?' Melissa asked while she sat on the edge of Ginny's bed.  
'I found out who he is.'  
'That's good, isn't it?'  
'Good? Good?' Ginny cried. 'It was awful, bloody awful I'm telling ya!'  
'Who is it then?'  
'Hmph. The Ferret!'  
Melissa's eyes widened in shock.  
'No way!'  
Ginny nodded.  
'Can you believe it?' she asked her friend. 'Can you believe it was him. That it was him all the time?'  
'No, this is so,' Melissa searched for the right word. 'Weird. I mean, what you told me about him didn't sound like Malfoy at all.'  
'I just can't believe it. I really enjoyed our da... what we did tonight,' Ginny said, she had almost used the word date, but she would never ever date Malfoy.  
'What did you do then?' Melissa asked.  
A small smile played on Ginny's lips.  
'We listened to the rain.'

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Wow! My longest chapter yet. I hope you liked it. Please review! Thanks!


	6. An unusual sandwich

It has taken me way too long to update, and I'm very, very sorry. I've been very busy with school (loads of homework) and my job, but now that Sinterklaas is on his way back to Spain I don't have to work as much for this week. Next week we say hello to Santa and I'm gonna have to work again .  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Love you!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 6 – A unusual sandwich**

Last night's rain had been replaced by snow. By the looks of it it had snowed very hard that night as the grounds were covered in a vast layer of white powder. Ginny got out of bed and walked towards the window next to her bed. She opened it and reached out her hand. The air outside was cold and Ginny shivered a little, but she didn't pull away. She watched absentmindedly as the cold flakes fell into the palm of her hand. She watched all the flakes melt after being in her warm hand for a few seconds. She pulled her hand inside and stared at the small puddle of water. Like all the good things, she thought as she turned her hand around and the water fell on the cold wooden floor. She sighed and closed the window.

She put on some warm clothes and threw her cloak around her, clasping it under her chin. She then picked up her scarlet and yellow scarf and tied it around her neck, she put on her ragged gloves and made her way outside. The winter was her favorite season, it had always been, especially when it had been snowing. She had just set one foot outside when a snowball hit her head. She looked up to see who had thrown it at her.

'Oi, Ginny!' Fred called.  
Ginny scooped up some snow and ran in the direction of her brothers. She aimed and threw her freshly made snowball at her brother. He wasn't fast enough and it hit him right in the face.  
'Take that!' she shouted at him.  
She looked around, smiling broadly. Her other brothers, George and Ron, were waving at her. She waved back and scooped up some more snow, turned it into a ball and aimed carefully. It didn't hit its target as Ron ducked away in time, but it resulted in a stream of snowballs being thrown at her by him. Laughing she started running towards the lake, this wasn't as easy as it usually was because the snow was really slowing her down. When she had made it towards the edge of the lake she took cover behind the trunk of a tree. She paused for a minute to catch her breath. When she was ready to go again she peeked around the trunk and saw that Fred and George were bombing Ron with snowballs. She decided that this wasn't fair and that she'd had to help Ron.  
She started making quite a big pile of snowballs and enchanted them so they'd fly directly at the twins. She jumped from behind the tree.

'Bombs away!' she shouted and waved her wand in the direction of her brothers. She couldn't help but laugh out loud when she saw the looks on their faces before they realised they could better run for cover. Unfortunately for Ginny the amount of snowballs wasn't unlimited and as soon as there weren't any left to bump against their heads Fred and George started to whisper together, without a doubt about how to get back at her. She duck behind her treetrunk again and she prepared herself for what was about to come. She had expected everything, everything except this...

This is taking way too long, she thought. Why aren't there any snowballs happily bouncing on my head yet. She had already stood there for a couple of minutes and it was very odd that it took her twin brothers so long to get revenge on her. She knew them too well not to take a peek around the tree, so she just kept looking over the surface of the lake. It wasn't frozen solid yet, but that was just a matter of days. Suddenly, without any warning a large heap of snow was dropped on top of Ginny's head. Her legs weren't able to carry the weight anymore and she fell on the ground. When she had finally made her way to the light ouside of the pile of snow she saw her three brothers standing there with an identical grin on their faces. This could only mean one thing. She had to get out of there, fast! She struggled to free herself and luckily this was quite easy. Once she was on her legs again she ran away from her brothers as fast as she could.

Watching over her shoulder she saw they followed her, Fred first, Ron behind him and George closed the line. As they were running along the edge of the lake Ginny suddenly felt someone grabbing for her ankle. She looked back and stopped running. It was just a hilarious scene that she saw. Apperently Fred had tripped over something (he probably had been the one that had reached for her ankle) and Ron and George hadn't been able to stop in time and had tumbled on top of Fred. Ginny grinned and ran towards this odd sandwich. When she was near enough she jumped up and let herself flop down on top of the heap of Weasleys.

'Get off,' a muffled voice said. 'I'm gonna be as flat as a bloody pancake.'  
'Well,' Ginny said. 'I'm quite comfortable up here.'

She let out a giggle and felt that she was pushed off. She fell in the snow on her stomach, her face buried in it. She rolled on her back and started to laugh out loud. Fred had managed to push them all off him, so he could breath again. As she looked at her brothers they started laughing along with her. This were the moments she loved, those moments with her family. Those moments she didn't have to think about what had happened.  
She sat up and was enchanted by what she saw there. There, under the tree from last night, sat a boy. As she took a closer look she saw that it was Draco Malfoy. She didn't know why she kept staring at him, but she just did. He was looking over the lake and Ginny was perplexed by the look on his face. There was sadness all written over it, she had never seen this expression on his face. As she sat there, unable to do anything but stare at him, he got up and walked in her direction. Ginny prepared for the stream of insults that soon would be thrown at her, but they didn't come. Instead of doing what he'd usually did he just walked past her, doing nothing, saying nothing and the sadness still on his face.

Damn you, Ginny thought, now I won't be able to think about anything else for the rest of the day.  
She got up.  
'Where are you going?' Ron asked.  
'I'm going back,' she answered blankly and walked towards the castle, her thoughts on Malfoy, again.

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I hope you liked it. Please review! Thanks!  
If you have any suggestions you can send me an e-mail. My adress is in my profile. See you next time!


	7. I don't know

First off I'm very very very sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time, but I've got a good reason for it. With Christmas we had a burglary and all of our computers were stolen. So I was cut off from the Internet and I couldn't update. But now we've got new computers and I'm back again. While I couldn't post anything I kept writing the old-fashioned way, so I have finished a couple of new chapters, I just have to type and post them.

Now I want to thank all of my reviewers, I love getting reviews and I love you guys!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 7 - I don't know**

Over the following days Ginny couldn't help but thinking about one particular boy. It was not as if she wanted to think about him on purpose, it just happened. She had tried everything to get him off her mind, but nothing had helped. Well almost nothing. Tonight's Quidditch practice was so intense that she couldn't allow her mind to wander over other things. She had made the house team this year, she was a Gryffindor Chaser. Quidditch had become quite the family affair now as Fred and George (who were forced to finish their last year by their mother) were Beaters once again and Ron had been the best at the Keeper try-outs.

'What's this?' Ginny looked around to see Harry, the new Gryffindor Captain, shout at a figure in green robes that had appeared on the pitch.  
'Professor Snape has given us permission to practice tonight,' he said as he held up a note. 'So you and your lousy team better get lost.'  
As Ginny landed to stand by her team she saw that the new Slytherin Captain was followed by five other students wearing robes in their house colours. She immediately realized that someone wasn't there, because a Quidditch team consisted of seven players. Though, as fast as that conclusion came it took her some time to realise who it was that wasn't there. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Harry's voice that said: 'You're lucky we're done here, but I _am_ going to report this!'

Ginny stood there for a minute staring up at the Slytherins, before she came to her senses and rushed to the changing room.  
'Hey, Gins! What took you so long?'  
'My name is Ginny, not Gins!' she responded irritated and she started to loosen her robe.  
'What's wrong with you?' Fred asked.  
'What do you think? It's that bloody name that you guys keep calling me! Maybe _you_ haven't noticed, but I'm not a little girl anymore!' she pulled her robe over her head that she knew had become red of anger.  
'You will always be our little sister, we'll always be there to look after you,' George backed his brother up.  
'I don't need to be looked after! I'm not your bloody pet!' she turned around and left the changing room.

Her mood didn't change that night although her friends tried to cheer her up. Nobody succeeded and unfortunately for them they only raised her Weasley-temper. It was not long before she got up angrily and went for bed, leaving her friends behind with the question of what was causing her temper. None knew, not even Melissa, though she had her ideas. Ginny dropped herself on her bed, she didn't bother to change into her pyjamas, she even kept her shoes on. Sleep just didn't come, her mind didn't leave her alone. She kept thinking about the boy that had been missing in the Slytherin team. She couldn't believe that it was Malfoy underneath the mask. That this sweet guy had been him all the time, she simply couldn't believe it. She lay wide awake for a couple of hours. She had heard all of her roommates come up and drift off to an easy sleep.

_There she stood, in a long, dark corridor. Before her was a boy. She walked towards him and saw that he was wearing a black mask. He took it off and she recognized him as Malfoy. Suddenly he turned into Tom. She panicked when she saw him, memories of her first year rushing through her mind. Ginny turned on her heels and started running through the corridor, away from him. After what seemed like ages she finally saw a tiny spot of light. She sped up to reach it. The light in front of her became bigger and bigger, but when she had almost reached it a door slammed shut in front of it and the only exit in her sight disappeared. Ginny stopped just in time to prevent herself from crashing into it and then Malfoy appeared right before her. Her panic rose to an even higher level as she turned around only to see Tom emerging in front of her. He pushed his black hair out of his face and smirked at her. At the edge of a nervebreak she looked at the two of them, both coming from a different side of her. Desperate, she searched for a way out of this. She started screaming._

Screaming and panting heavily Ginny Weasley finally woke up, leaving her nightmare behind her.

'Ginny!'  
The girl didn't respond.  
'What's going on?'  
Someone got out of her bed and walked over to her.  
'Are you allright?'  
The curtains around her bed were dawn away.  
'Why don't you say something?'  
Melissa's face appeared in the girls' sight.  
'Bloody hell, Ginny!' she said, when she saw her face. 'What happened?'  
Finally being able to say something Ginny replied: 'He's back...'  
'Who is? What are you talking about?'  
'I dreamt about him again,' she clutched the other girls' pyjamas in her fists, panic spreading across her face again. She saw Melissa's eyes widen in shock and confusion.  
'You sure it was him?'  
Ginny nodded.  
'I'll go get you some water and-' she was cut off.  
'Don't go,' Ginny grabbed her pyjamas tighter. 'I'm scared.'  
'Okay, but you can let go of my pyjamas then,' was all she got as a reply when the other girl sat down on her bedside. They remained silent for some time. It could have been a few second, a couple of minutes or even an hour, Ginny had lost all track of time.

'I was in a corridor,' she said without being asked. 'I was in a corridor and there also was a boy. He was wearing a mask. He took it off and turned out to be Draco. When I was looking at him he turned into, into-' she couldn't finish it.  
'Tom,' Melissa simply stated.  
Ginny nodded before she continued: 'I turned and ran away from him, towards the exit. When I reached it it disappeared and Draco turned up in front of it. I backed away from him but they were both coming at me. I started screaming and then I woke up.'

Silence again.  
'So both Tom and Malfoy were in this dream?'  
A single nod as a confirmation that she was right.  
'And they were both threatening you?'  
Another nod.  
'I thought I was over him! Completely over him!' Ginny suddenly exclaimed. 'And what in Merlin's name was Draco doing in my dream?'  
'I don't know, Gin, I don't know.'  
'I haven't got anything to do with Draco, nothing at all. So what's he doing in my dream?' she asked again. 'I mean, I've got nothing to do with him, right?'  
'Probably.'  
'What do you mean by that?'  
'Well, you keep calling him Draco,' Melissa said hesitantly.  
'Am not!' Ginny nearly screamed.  
'Yes you are.'

Another silence.  
'Melis, I don't know what's going on with me,' Ginny said looking at her best friend. 'For the past week Draco has been the only thing on my mind. I have been thinking about him all the time. I don't know what to do!'  
'Me neither,' Melissa sighed. 'I think you're gonna have to find out your feelings toward Malfoy.'  
The red-headed girl burst into tears and started sobbing uncontrolably.  
'Will you help me?' she asked.

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I hope you liked it! Please review!

En Caar, ik wil ook een review van jou!


	8. Listen to your heart

Told you I'd update soon D Thanks to all of my reviewers, you rock! And now I am proud to present you chapter 8 of my story (ahum, don't pay any attention to me .)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 8 - Listen to your heart**

The next day Ginny decided that she'd just go to her classes and that she'd try to keep her attention on her lessons. That was easier said than done. Throughout the day she had found that it was quite hard to focus on her lessons. Luckily none of her teachers had noticed it yet. That was until her last class.

'Miss Weasley, what are the ingredients for a Polyjuice Potion?'  
A kick from under the table brought Ginny to her senses again. She looked at the perpetrator. Melissa jerked her head almost unnoticable towards Snape and Ginny knew that she was busted.  
'I don't know, sir,' she said looking at her teacher.  
'What a pity,' he said. 'That'll be 20 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention.'  
Severus Snape turned around and Ginny stuck out her tongue to his back. The girls at her table started laughing soundlessly and stopped as on command when Snape turned around to face the class again.  
'For the next lesson you will all write an essay in which you describe _very precisely_ how to make a Polyjuice Potion. Ten inches long!'  
Ginny was glad that she hadn't got detention, because this hadn't been the first time such an incident had happened. She silently packed her belongings, she didn't even complain about the homework and made her way out of the dungeon as fast as she could. She waited for Melissa and together they walked to the common room, while complaining about Snape and his stupid essay.  
'Can you believe it? Ten inches, that's about this big,' Melissa said and she spread her arms. Ginny laughed.  
'_Mayonnaise_,' she said to the Fat Lady and the girls climbed through the portrait hole. They put down their bags and sat down in the chairs closest to the fire.

'So you thought about it?'  
'All the time,' the red-head sighed. 'I'm not sure what my feelings are. I mean, I keep thinking about him, but that's something I'm not supposed to do. You know him being who he is.'  
'Whatcha talking about?' someone leaning over her chair said. She looked around and saw that it was Dacia.  
'Her feelings towards someone,' Melissa answered her question and she recieved a glare from Ginny.  
'You in love?' Dacia asked while she pulled up a chair.  
'No!'  
'If you say so,' Dacia shrugged.  
'No. I am _not_ in love with him!'  
'Is it the guy from the ball?'  
Ginny nodded, cursing her friends' thoroughness.  
'You know who he is yet?'  
'Yes I know,' Ginny answered. 'But I'm not telling you, yet.'  
'Sure, whatever you want,' Dacia said. 'You know, I think you should listen to your heart. If you do that it'll be allright.'  
Ginny and Melissa both stared at her, but the brown-haired girl just said: 'Well, I've got lots of homework to do, so I'm gonna leave you two alone.' She stood up, walked through the common room and disappeared through the portrait hole.  
'Now that was useful,' Ginny said sarcasticaly. '_How_ am I supposed to listen to my heart and follow it, if I don't know what it wants?'  
'I think your heart knows exactly what it wants,' Melissa whispered.  
'_What_ did you say?' Ginny asked in disbelief.  
'I think your heart knows exactly what it wants,' Melissa repeated a little louder and she looked her friend into the eyes. 'I think it's your mind that has trouble catching up with it.'  
'Now I'm really confused,' she was getting agitated. 'Just _what_ I'm I supposed to do?'  
'Just listen to yor heart,' Melissa stated.  
Ginny jumped out of her chair and stormed to the portrait hole, knocking over a couple of first-years that got in her way.  
'Thanks for nothing!' she shouted and before Melissa knew it the portrait of the Fat Lady was covering the exit again.

Her feet carried her through the halls of the castle, but she didn't know where they were taking her. Neither did she care, she didn't care about anything anymore. How was she supposed to follow her heart, when it wasn't clear what it wanted. And what was that about her mind having trouble to catch up about? What did it have to catch up with? Why were both Melissa and Dacia thinking they were helping her with her problems, while their advice confused her even more. They couldn't know what she was feeling, she didn't even know herself. Her feet had carried her to the exit of the castle. It was still very cold and Ginny shivered a little when she stepped into the snow. She hadn't brought her cloak with her, but she didn't really care. She walked through the snow absendmidedly and sat down under one of the trees at the lake-side. Another night of frost and the lake would be completely frozen.

_Playground school bell rings again  
Rain clouds come to play again  
Has no one told you she's not breathing?  
Hello I'm in your mind giving you someone to talk to  
Hello_

Ginny couldn't help it and started singing. That was the only way for her to get her feelings clear. If she wanted to get her feelings straight she'd had to sing them when she was alone. Draco had been on her mind all the time. He was the only one she had been thinking about for the last days. They'd had a great time together. First the ball and after that their date. No, it wasn't a date! Defenitely not! But what would you call it, then? She couldn't think of anything else, so it had been a date? She wouldn't forget it for the rest of her life. Could she be developping feelings for him, for Draco Malfoy? No that was impossible!

_If I smile and don't believe  
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream  
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken  
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide  
Don't cry_

It couldn't be. She just _couldn't_ have such feelings for Draco. Well, not true feelings. She didn't know how, but she was sure her mind was fooling her. It had happened before, right? It had happened in her first year with the whole Tom-issue, so this was just something similair. It would all be over soon, she just had to hold on a little longer, until she would wake from this dream.

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping  
Hello I'm still here  
All that's left of yesterday_

Suddenly she realized this wasn't a dream, this was reality. She wouldn't wake up, her feelings wouldn't go away no matter how hard she tried to deny them. She had to face the truth, and therefore all of her feelings. She was starting to develop feelings for Draco, but she couldn't place those feelings yet. She didn't know whether she was sowly falling in love with him, or that she just felt sorry for him. She got up and walked back to the castle, unaware of the fact that she had been watched by no less then two boys.

When she entered the common room her friends were nowhere to be found so she sat by Ron and Hermione. The two of them were playing a game of Wizards Chess.  
'Who's winning,' she asked.  
'I am. That is until you came bursting in,' Ron said. He sounded quite irritated.  
'Good evening to you, too,' she responded.  
'Like I could ever win from you,' Hermione said.  
'You could with some help,' Ginny said.  
'You're not gonna help her! Besides I could still beat you two.'  
'_Someone_ here is really sure of himself. We should teach him a lesson, Hermione.'  
The girl shook her brown curls.  
'That wouldn't be fair, Ginny.'  
'Aw, you're no fun. So where's Harry? He got detention again?'  
'Nope, dunno where he is, though,' Ron answered. 'He left shortly after you. What was it you were gonna do anyway?'  
'That's none of your business!' Ginny said angrily.  
'Of course it is,' Ron responded. 'You're my younger sister. I have the right to know what you're doing.'  
'You are just one year older, may I remind you! And I _can_ look after myself, thank you very much!' Ginny shouted at her brother. She was so sick of this overprotectiveness of her brothers. They kept treating her like she was six years old. If it was possible they'd follow her around all day long. She got out of her chair and walked away from her brother. He got up too, his face turning red and he knocked over the chess board, so the pieces were flying around the common room.  
'Ginevra Molly Weasley, you come back here right now!' he shouted at her back.  
Ginny felt her face turn red and she spun on her heels to face her brother again.  
'You're gonna have to make me, Ronald Bilius Weasley,' she insulted him with his full name as he had done with her, turned away from him again and pushed the portrait hole open. She walked to the library deciding to read something to calm her down. As she was about to enter Melissa came out.

'You're coming for dinner?' she asked. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Ginny's wrist and dragged her along.  
'What's wrong? You're face is flushed red.'  
'Ron again,' she sighed. 'He wanted to know where I went.'  
'So do I. You're gonna be mad at me, too?'  
'Of course not,' Ginny laughed. 'I went outside and gave myself some time to think about it all.'  
'And, you made up your mind?' Melissa asked eagerly.  
'Yup, I think my mind has caught up with my heart.'

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The song I used in this chapter is _Hello_ by _Evanescence_.

I hope you liked it. Please review. Thanks!


	9. Confusion

It took me too long to update. There's no other reason for it than laziness and I'm really sorry. I want to thank every one of my reviewers, because you make my day!

I'm looking for a beta-reader so if you're interested just send me a message or e-mail. You can find my adress in my profile.

Ps. You are so going to kill me for this chapter :P  
And Caar: ;)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the story!**

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**Chapter 9 - Confusion**

The next morning Ginny woke up with the sweet smell of roses lingering in her nose. She opened her eyes and wondered if one of her roommates had some kind of new perfume. She rolled over to her side only to see a beautiful bouquet of roses standing on her wooden bedside table. She sat up straight and took the them. By doing this she revealed a folded piece of parchment. She brought the bouquet to her face and inhaled the smell deeply. The dark red leafs were very soft on her face and whomever had placed them had carufully removed all of the thorns. She put the roses down on her lap, took the parchment and opened it.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I hope you like the roses, their beauty reminded me of you. I was wondering if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me today? I will be waiting for you in the Entrance Hall._

_Love,  
Harry Potter_

Ginny couldn't believe it. She read it again and again to make sure her eyes weren't cheating on her.  
'Harry,' she muttered under her breath while she folded the parchment again. She ran her nails over the folds before putting it down on her bedside table. She took he roses from her lap, stared at them and let out a long sigh, before she placed them on top of the parchment again. She got out of her bed and made her way to her trunk. She picked her clothes without even taking one look at them, she was too caught up in her thoughts. When she was dressed she picked up the note, put that in her pocket and went down to the common room.

'Yo, sleepyhead!'  
Ginny looked over to Melissa and waved at her friend.  
'So, who sent them?'  
'Who sent what?' Ginny pretended.  
'Stop it! You know what I'm talking about.'  
Ginny laughed and took out the note. She handed it over to Melissa whose eyes grew bigger and bigger while reading it.  
'But, since when?' she asked still holding the parchment as if she was reading it.  
'I don't know. I never knew,' Ginny shook her head. 'I thought he didn't like me like that.'  
'Well, apparently he does,' Melisa said. 'So, what ya gonna do?'  
'I don't know. What do you think I should do?'  
'You kidding me? You _have_ to go. This is your crush we're talking about, this is the guy you've liked for six years. Now he finally asks you on a date and you're even _thinking_ about not going!'  
'You're right,' she said, smiling at her friend. But deep down she wasn't sure if she still liked Harry like she used to. 'So, you coming for breakfast?' Ginny got up. Melissa muttered something about 'Weasleys always thinking about food' and followed the red-head.

Ginny was glad that they didn't encounter the trio, she wondered if Ron and Hermione knew about it. Hermione probably did, Harry couldn't have done it without some help, considering his Cho-incident. She was also quite sure that Hermione was to keep Ron away from the two of them during their date, because seeing his sister with any boy would drive him crazy, even if it was his best friend. Ginny ate her breakfast absendmindedly, without saying a word to anyone. She was brought to her senses again by Melissa who said something to her, something she didn't quite catch.  
'Huh,' she looked up. 'What did you say?'  
'That we're going back up and get you ready for your date!'  
'Whatever you want.'  
'Well you're not going if you look like this,' Melissa pointed at her outfit. Ginny had to admit it looked kinda horrible, even when you didn't really care about the way you looked. She left the Gryffindor table and followed her friend outside the Great Hall. Ginny checked her watch and saw that it was still early. She turned to Melissa.  
'Dont you think it's a bit early?' she asked.  
'It's never too early to make you beautiful,' she answered. 'But you're right. What are we going to do?'  
'I think I'm going to the library and start on that essay for Snape.'  
'Friggin' essay.'  
'Absolutely.'  
'Well you go do what you want to, I'm gonna do nothing. See you later.'  
'Don't exhaust yourself,' Ginny laughed. 'See you!'

There were just a few other students in the library, as it was Saturday and most were enjoying a day off. Ginny went to the Potion's Section and took out a book at random. She scanned the index, but she didn't find anything about the Polyjuice Potion. Sighing, as this was going to take a long time, she put the book back and took out the next one. Again nothing. Next. Nothing. Next. Nothing. This isn't going to work, she thought. Although she didn't really want to, she decided she'd ask Madam Pince for help. She walked to the librarian.  
'Excuse me,' she said. 'I'm looking for a book in which I can find how to make a Polyjuice Potion.'  
'I'm afraid that I can't give you that book,' Madam Pince answered. 'It's in the Restricted Section and unless you've got a note I can't give it to you.'  
'But I need it,' Ginny tried.  
'No, unless you have a note or you're studying for your O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s -'  
'But I _am_ studying for my O.W.L.s,' she interupted.  
'You are? What is your name?'  
'Ginevra Weasley,' she said and watched the woman as she was checking some kind of list with names on it.  
'The book is called _Moste Potente Potions_ and you can find it over there,' she waved at the Restricted Section. Ginny thanked her and went to retrieve the book she needed. She let her finger go along the books with the M until she found the one she was looking for. She took it out and looked at the cover. It looked very old and was quite dirty. Ginny shrugged and sat down at one of the tables. She took a piece of parchment from the pile and cursed herself for not taking a quill with her. Luckily she wasn't the only who did that frequently, so there were a couple of spare quills and ink bottles available. She got up and walked to the entrance to collect the things she needed. She sat down again, dipped the quill in the ink and wrote the title. She underlined it and put down the quill to open the book. As she opened the book to scan the index a piece of parchment fell out. Ginny's curiousity took over and she opened it to read it.

_This is me for forever  
One of the lost ones  
The one without a name  
Without an honest heart as compass_

_This is me for forever  
One without a name  
These lines the last endeavor  
To find the missing lifeline_

_Oh how I wish  
For soothing rain  
All I wish is to dream again  
My loving heart  
Lost in the dark  
For hope I'd give my everything_

_My flower withered between  
The pages 2 and 3  
The once and forever  
Bloom gone with my sins_

_Walk the dark path  
Sleep with angels  
Call the past for help  
Touch me wih your love  
And reveal to me my true name_

_Oh how I wish  
For soothing rain  
All I wish is to dream again  
My loving heart  
Lost in the dark  
For hope I'd give my everything_

_Oh how I wish  
For soothing rain  
Oh how I wish to dream again  
Once and for all  
And all for once  
Nemo my name forevermore_

_Nemo sailing home  
Nemo letting go_

Ginny was speechless. She felt really depressed all of a sudden. She wondered who had written this. He or she wasn't really happy, to say the least. They'd probably felt the same as Ginny was feeling right now. Not knowing and caring why she folded the parchment again and pocketed it. Confused she tried to remember what it was that she had to do. When she saw the book she remembered. She scanned the index for Polyjuice Potion and flipped to the right page. She read the entry and concluded that this was a very difficult potion to brew. Sighing she continued her essay. Every time she looked in the book to check a fact she thought about the poem she had found. Why was it still in the book, who had written it. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Funnily enough she _was_ able to concentrate on her essay, despite her minds' preoccupation. Ginny didn't know how long she had spent in the library, but it had been quite a while, because her friends came to get her out. Without any warning someone shut her book close. She looked up and saw her friends.

'You have done enough studying for today,' Dacia said.  
'Yup,' Keali said. 'You are coming with us.'  
Ginny knew that it wouldn't help if she complained so she stood up and put _Moste Potente Potions_ back at the shelf where it belonged and followed the group of girls. She dropped the quill and ink-pot at the table near the entrance and went outside.  
'You seemed really caught up in that essay,' Melissa said.  
'Friggin' essay.'  
'I was, it was actually going very well until you guys showed up,' Ginny said. 'Not that I'd get a good grade from Snape anyway, but that's not the point.'  
'Friggin' Snape.'  
'Why didn't you tell us about your date,' Dacia asked. 'We heard it from Melissa.'  
'I _was_ going to keep it to myself.'  
'You don't get a chance with her around,' Keali nodded her head in Melissa's direction.  
Ginny laughed. 'I should've known.'  
'You know what you guys gonna do?'  
'Nope, but I'll freak out if he takes me to Madam Puddifoot's.'  
'I'd like to be taken there,' Melissa said dreamily.  
'Well that's the difference between you and me; I'm normal and you, well,' she ran for it when Melissa tried to hit her. 'Just kidding! Just kidding!'  
After giving the password to the Fat Lady the girls climbed through the portrait hole and went straight up to their dormitory.  
'Okay,' Melissa started as Ginny let herself fall on her bed. 'About your clothing.'  
'What about it?'  
'It should be convenient, yet elegant. It should keep you warm, but you shouldn't look like a stuffed animal.'  
'Choices, choices,' Ginny said sarcastically.  
'I think we should go with a nice pair of jeans,' Keali said, ignoring Ginny's comment. The other girls nodded. Melissa walked over to Ginny's trunk and started going through the contents. While doing so she threw out every single pair of jeans she came across. She got up, shaking her head.  
'Nothing but ragged jeans inside here,' she said. 'Luckily we have the same size.'  
She walked over to her own trunk and pulled out a pair of jeans with a loud 'Tadaa!'.  
'They're lovely,' Keali said. 'When did you get them.'  
'Some time ago, but I kept them for special occasions. Try them on.' She threw them over to Ginny. They were very nice, even though Ginny didn't normally care about clothes. She held them in front of her and shook her head.  
'They _are_ lovely,' she mimicked Keali's words. 'But I can't wear them.'  
'And why is that,' Melissa asked.  
'Because you kept them for special occasions and -,' she was cut off.  
'Like this isn't a special occasion?' Melissa said in disbelief. 'You finally have a date with Harry and you're not calling that a special occasion worthy of my jeans!'  
Ginny laughed at her reaction.  
'I know, but still.'  
'If you don't stop that right now I'm gonna make you write lines,' Melissa said placing her hands on her hips.  
'Yes Ma'am,' Ginny saluted. 'I'll just be putting them on now.'  
She walked to the screen and disappeared behind it. While she was changing into the jeans she heard the other girls discuss what she'd have to wear above them.  
'I think a sweater would be best,' Keali said.  
'Yeah, but what colour?' Dacia asked.  
'Defenitely not one of those with a big 'G' on it,' Melissa giggled. 'You know the ones her Mum always sends her.'  
'Hey!' Ginny exclaimed. 'Those happen to be very warm and comfy.'  
'But they're not very fashionable, Gin.'  
'Whatever.'  
'Back to the colour.'  
'Not orange, that looks horrible with her hair.'  
'It seems like you're not aware that I can hear everything you guys say,' Ginny peeked around the screen.  
'You should just shut it and do what you're supposed to do and let us take care of your outfit,' Melissa said.  
'Sweet Merlin.'  
'What about green,' Keali opted. She walked to her trunk. 'I've got just the thing here.' She pulled out a bright green knitted sweater.  
'That'd look great on her,' Dacia said.  
Keali walked to Ginny and gave her the sweater. When she was done putting on the clothes her friends had picked Ginny came out from behind the screen.  
'You look sweet!' Melissa exclaimed. 'Okay ladies, our next task: hair and make-up.'  
Ginny felt how she was put down on her bed again and then her friends started pulling at her hair and applying make-up to her face. She just let them, because she had to admit, they were good at it. After about fifteen minutes she heard satisfied sighs.  
'You done?' she asked.  
'Yes, and you look splendid!' Keali pretended to be breathless.

Ginny made her way to the mirror and looked into it. There she saw a girl wearing blue jeans that were tight around the upper legs, but that became wider as they were going down. At the bottom there were silver sparkles. On top of that she was wearing a very green sweater, like the greenest apple Ginny had ever seen. The girl's auburn hair was down straight, with some curling at the tips. Her make-up was done to match her outfit, with the same green as her sweater and some transparent gloss on her lips. She stared at the girl in the mirror, she was beautiful, but it wasn't her. It was weird, she didn't usually dressed like that, but when she was looking like this she would feel pretty. Now she just felt uncomfortable in this outfit. She sighed.

'What do you think?'  
Ginny looked at her friends, they looked eager to know what she thought. She took a deep breath.  
'It's great,' she smiled. 'I love it!'  
'And now, we should get moving, because the carriages to Hogsmeade are leaving any minute now!'  
The group of girls made their way down and through the common room. At the stairs leading down to the Entrance Hall the group of girls parted. Ginny silently watched as her friends went down. She took a deep breath and searched for Harry. When she had seen him she walked down the stairs. He saw her and came towards her.  
'Hey,' he said, sounding nervous.  
'Hi,' she replied, probably as nervous as he was.  
'You look,' he searched for the right words. 'Well, you look really beautiful.'  
'Thanks,' she forced herself to smile at him. 'Shall we go?'  
'Sure.'  
They crossed the Entrance Hall side by side. Ginny felt very uncomfortable, something she'd never had with Harry. She thought it was because this was a date, because this was the very first date with the guy she'd had a crush on for years. She told herself to calm down, that everything was going to be fine. The two of them went outside, past Filch who was checking the students for permission. Outside the carriages with nothing pulling them were ready to go. Harry opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. He sat down across her, the uncomfortable silence still hanging between them. The carriage jolted as it started to move and Ginny looked outside, at the landscape gliding by. She could feel Harry's eyes burning on her, but when she looked at him he quickly turned his head away pretending he hadn't been looking.  
'So,' she said. 'What do you want to do?'  
Harry looked at her, his green eyes looking directly into hers.  
'I don't know,' he said. 'Maybe we can go get something to drink, walk around a little. You know, checking out Hogsmeade?'  
'Sure, sounds like fun.'  
Harry stared out of the window again, Ginny did the same. They sat there in silence for the rest of the ride. I was a really uncomfortable silence, Ginny couldn't think of anything to say and apparently Harry couldn't either. She let out a sigh of relief when their carriage arrived in Hogsmeade. They both wanted to go out at the same time which caused them to bump into each other. 'I'm sorry,' Ginny stuttered.  
'No, I'm sorry,' Harry said. 'You go first.'  
She stepped out of the carriage onto the streets of the only entirely wizarding village in the country.

'So what shall we do first?' Harry asked.  
'Let's get something to drink.'  
'Okay, where do you want to go?'  
'Let's go to the Three Broomsticks.'  
Harry let out a sigh.  
'What's wrong,' she asked.  
'For a minute there I thought you were gonna say that you wanted to go to that tearoom,' he replied.  
'You mean Madam Puddifoot's?'  
He nodded.  
'No way, I'd rather face the thorn of all my brothers together than to go there,' she said.  
Harry laughed and Ginny couldn't help but laughing with him.  
'So, you've been there?' she asked him.  
'Yes, and it was horrible,' he answered. 'The place was decorated for Valentine's Day. There were floating golden cherubs which would throw confetti down. It all ended up in my coffee.' He shivered.  
'That's awful,' Ginny said. 'Now shall we go?'  
'Sure,' Harry said and he offered her his arm. She took it and they walked to the Three Broomsticks. The place was filled with students chatting happily with each other. They managed to find a spot where the two of them could sit alone and Ginny waited as Harry went away to get them some butterbeer. She took her time to look around the place and at who were there. She didn't see Hermione or Ron and smiled at the thought that maybe those two were spending some quality time together. She saw Fred and George were talking with each other, probably about their plans for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She had just spotted Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown who kept looking at Seamus Finnigan and Dean Tomas, when Harry returned with a mug of butterbeer in each hand. He put their drinks down and went to sit across from Ginny.  
'Thanks,' she said as she grabbed a mug and started sipping her drink. She cast a glance at Harry, but he didn't seem to notice because he was staring. Staring at something behind her. She turned around to see that there was nothing but the wall there. She shrugged and waved her hand in front of Harry's face. This brought him back to his senses.  
'Is the wall that interesting?' she asked.  
'Huh?'  
'The wall, Harry.'  
'Oh the wall,' he finally seemed to realise what she was talking about. 'Now, that's a very interesting wall.'  
'It is?'  
'Yes, it's absolutely the most interesting wall I've ever seen.'  
'I see.'  
They looked at each other and started laughing out loud. Ginny shook her head.  
'What?' Harry asked.  
'I don't believe you,' she said, smiling.  
'Well, you don't have to.'  
Ginny looked around to see everyone staring at them.  
'There are too many people here,' she said while standing up. 'Let's go somewhere else.'  
Harry nodded and followed her outside.

'So, where do you want to go, then?' he asked.  
Well, we could walk around a bit, you know,' she sighed. 'But I've been here so many times, I can walk around here in my dreams.'  
Harry smiled. 'Let's get back to the castle then.'  
They started walking the long road that lead to the castle, because the carriages wouldn't be there until a certain time later that day. While they were walking they talked about various things. They talked about Quidditch, about school, about teachers and about all the other things that came to mind. Before they knew they had reached the entrance gate and were on Hogwarts' grounds again. When they passed the lake Ginny saw that there were people standing on it and she decided she would try it, too. She ran for it, leaving a startled Harry behind. She reached the ice, slipped, fell and landed ungracefully on her butt.  
'Ow,' she groaned as she tried to get up. She couldn't get up, she slipped away every time.  
She heard someone laughing. She looked at the shore and saw that the laughter had come from Harry. She tried to get up one more time, but gave it up.  
'That's not funny!' she exclaimed.  
'It was very funny,' Harry said, gasping for breath.  
'Okay, you've had your laugh. Could you please help me now?'  
He walked towards her, careful not to slip and stuck out his hand. Ginny took and tried to pull herself up. After quite a struggle she finally managed to get on her feet again.  
'Hey, do you know how to ice skate?' Harry asked.  
'What's that?'  
'That's something Muggles do when a lake is frozen. They put on some sort of shoes with iron gliders beneath them so they can glide over the ice,' he explained. 'That's ice skating.'  
'Sounds like fun,' she said. 'So where do we get those special shoes?'  
'That's a good question.'  
'Maybe we can transfigure our own shoes into them,' Ginny opted.  
'Good idea, let's try it.'  
They both took their wands in their hands and muttered the incantation. As if it was a miracle both spells worked the first time and they were standing on their selfmade ice skates.

'Now what do we do?' Ginny asked.  
'I don't know. Try getting forward, I think.'  
He had just finished his sentence when he fell backward and landed on his bottom. Ginny burst into laughing.  
'Now that was funny,' she said.  
'Well, you try it.'  
Ginny tried to move forward and to her surprise she actually moved forward. She tried again, and she moved.  
'Hey, it's not that hard,' she said as she continued going forward. She enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her hair, the cold on her face and the pain in her butt as she fell down again. She struggled to get up again and found this even harder than the last time. After a lot of attempts she was up again and skated away. She was quite pleased with her achievements. She had only just found out wat ice skating was and she could do it a little. Not very good, but a little. And practice makes perfect, right? She skated to Harry, who had given up and was still on his spot.  
'Hey, get up.'  
'I can't,' he said.  
'Why not?'  
'My butt is stuck to the ice.'  
'Here,' she held out her hand. Harry grabbed it and pulled himself up. Ginny didn't let go of his hand as she skated away, so he was forced to follow her. She dragged him along until he got the clue and tried to keep up with her. It didn't go that well and before she knew it he was down again, still clutching her hand. She helped him up again.  
'You're not very good at this, right?' she teased him.  
He just stuck out his tongue and let go of her hand. He tried to go forward, but failed miserably. He waved his arms around and grabbed the first thing his fingers touched. Unfortunately for Ginny that thing was her cloak, so he took her down in his fall and she landed on top of Harry. She tried to get up as fast as possible, but it took her some time before Harry could breath again.  
'Let's call it a day,' she said as she pulled Harry up again.  
'Yeah,' he nodded in agreement.  
They transformed their shoes back to normal and walked to the shore, careful not to slip again. Ginny was surprised when Hary grabbed her hand.  
'There's something I want to show you,' he said. 'A place I like to come.'  
Ginny followed Harry's lead as she tried to guess where they were going. They walked along the frozen lakeside towards a tree. _The_ tree. No, this couldn't be.  
'So what do you think?'  
'It's a very nice spot.'  
'I come here when I want to be alone, when I want to think,' he took a deep breath. 'Ginny, can I ask you something.'  
'Sure,' she said while looking at the lake. She turned her head towards Harry's. As if by magic their faces came closer and their lips met. After a few seconds they parted.  
'Will you be my girlfriend?'  
Ginny couldn't think straight anymore. She was confused about what had happened and about what she had felt. Or rather what she hadn't felt. His words didn't fully reach her.  
'Yes,' she said.  
He kissed her again, but she didn't kiss him back. What had just happened? Had she just become Harry Potters girlfriend?  
'Let's go inside,' Harry said when he pulled away.  
Ginny only nodded as she followed him inside.

---------------

The poem in this chapter are the lyrics of _Nemo_ by _Nightwish_.

I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! Thanks!


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